Thursday Apple Rumors: No Delay for iOS 7

by Christopher Freeburn | May 2, 2013 12:05 pm

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

Re-Imagined: The redesign of Apple‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL[3]) mobile operating system is drawing additional engineering and technical resources from other projects[4], AllThingsD notes. Despite earlier rumors that iOS 7 could be delayed due to the scale of the interface overhaul overseen by lead Apple designer Jony Ive, sources inside the company say that the iOS refresh will be completed on time. Apple will show off the new design at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Reports say that Ive is jettisoning all realistic, three-dimensional design elements that have long been featured in iOS. Skeuomorphic design elements had been favored by former Apple executive Scott Forstall, who was forced out last year. His departure has given Ive a free hand to banish those elements from iOS 7’s interface, opting instead for a “flat” appearance.

Blame: A story on rising cell phone thefts in the New York Times accuses mobile device makers, including Apple of failing to install technologies that could mitigate the problem[5]. Smartphone thefts are becoming a serious problem in some large U.S. cities. In New York City last year, the theft of Apple devices like iPads and iPhones comprised 14% of all crimes and pushed the city’s crime rate up for the first time in two decades. San Francisco — Apple’s backyard — saw the percentage of robberies involving a cell phone rise from 36% in 2011, to almost 50% last year. San Francisco’s district attorney claimed earlier this year that he met with Apple officials to urge them to adopt anti-theft technologies, but received only vague assurances. Analyzing the Times article, Fortune points out that Apple already offers an iPhone tracking app[6] called Find My Phone that can locate stolen iPhones and remotely erase data, something not offered by devices running Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG[7]) Android OS.

Problem: A recent study from Texas A&M University found that drivers who used voice apps to compose and send text messages while driving were as distracted as those entering texts manually[8], Xcomony notes. In the study, drivers were allowed to send text messages both manually and through voice apps, like Apple’s Siri, while their level of distraction and driving performance were measured. However, Xconomy points out that in the study the drivers held iPhones running Siri in their hands while driving. Siri’s “eye free” mode, which allows voice commanded texting, is designed to be used without the driver holding the iPhone. Apple specifically recommends using Siri in “eyes free” mode through a speaker or bluetooth headset. The study’s authors argue that their tests examined voice-app texting the way most drivers actually use it.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[9] stories.